2011 News Releases

GSA and Construction Firms Pay $100,000 Penalty for Mishandling Asbestos at Building Renovation

(Boston, Mass. – Mar. 2, 2011) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) settled an enforcement action against the United States General Services Administration (GSA), and four private parties for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act (CAA) at the John W. McCormack Post Office and Court House Building in Boston, Mass. The parties will collectively pay a penalty of $100,000.

The action alleged that GSA, Goody Clancy and Associates, ATC Associates, Suffolk Construction Company and Fleet Industrial Services violated federal CAA requirements for failing to properly remove, handle and dispose of asbestos during the building’s renovations in 2007. GSA is the owner/operator of the building, and the private companies were asbestos abatement contractors, and architectural and construction contractors to GSA during the time of the renovations and violations.

The violations were discovered during joint inspections by EPA and the Massachusetts Division of Occupational Safety. Following the inspections, EPA issued an Immediate Compliance Order requiring GSA and the companies to quickly remedy their actions.

GSA and the companies expeditiously complied with the Order, and EPA is not aware of any harm to human health and the environment caused by the alleged violations.